STRANGE BODIES (a gripping crime thriller) by Antonia Marlowe Read Free Book Online Page A

wall screens one and two, reports on personal units. Split those screens … eight at a time.’
    There were low gasps at the horrific images.
    ‘Can we get a pictures of them before this? I want to see what they looked like before some sick bastard did that to them,’ said the Commander as he scrolled through the medical and forensic reports.
    ‘Yes sir, here, screen four. These are from the newspaper report. Bit blurry though.’
    ‘What do we know about them … let’s see … South African, been here two years. Visa application shows allegations of racial discrimination as grounds for entry. Wife mixed race. Do they still frown on that? Anyone have info on that?’
    There were head shakes.
    Mrs Halifax buzzed. ‘DI Jacobsen’s on his way, sir.’
    ‘Close the screens down for now, sergeant. Let’s grab some coffee, take a short break. I want you all to read those reports before DI Jacobsen gets here.
    ‘If we don’t get this wrapped by one we’d better make this a working lunch. Anyone got a problem with that?’
    A chorus of no’s answered the commander.
    Adams poured himself coffee then felt a vibration on his wrist. Annoyed at the interruption he glanced at the small display. Marcus Havington , he noted. Damn, I’ll have to answer this . Taking the mug with him he walked into his office.
    ‘Nicholas Adams, Sir Marcus. I didn’t realise you were in Australia. Look, I’m in a meeting. Can I call you back? It’ll have to be this afternoon some time.’
    ‘No need, my boy. I want to have a few words in person, important but not urgent. Later this week will do.’ He paused. ‘Any regrets about the move, Nicholas?’
    ‘No, no regrets. None at all.’
    ‘Why don’t we make it lunch then, a light lunch in my office … that suit you?’
    ‘Sounds fine. I look forward to it.’
    Talking to Marcus Havington triggered memories of his final weeks in London. He marvelled at the extraordinary circumstances that had brought him here to Sydney. He sipped his coffee as he sat reminiscing and staring at nothing.

Chapter 10
    Adams introduced himself to DI Kerry Jacobsen. They shook hands, sizing each other up, gaining first impressions.
    ‘You met our lot yet, Jacobsen?’
    ‘No, sir, just Sergeant Fraser.’
    “I won’t bother with names—too many to remember and they are all wearing ID tags. We have five teams for different states and we also liaise with New Zealand.
    As the commander was speaking, they all had a good look at Jacobsen, a tall burly man in his forties, in good physical shape, with a full head of dark wavy hair. Adams pointed him to a seat.
    Jacobsen sat then said, ‘You will have accessed everything available on this case by now. I’ve got some extra stuff, mainly notes I made, impressions, y’know, interviews with Jim Lawrence and a park ranger, all vids, and some more pathology and forensics stuff that came through just as I was leaving. I know you’ve got the transcripts of the interviews but sometimes you pick up little nuances that just aren’t there in a cold transcript. I’ve had a discussion with my boss and he agreed that we should ask you to have a look at this. We haven’t got anywhere and some fresh minds might pick up something we’ve overlooked.’ He scratched his head. ‘Not a single clue as to the perps.’
    ‘Once we have all we can get we’ll feed it into CATCR and CrimCom here. We can also access HOLMES, InterCat and other databases in the USA, the UK and the equivalents in other countries,’ Adams said.
    Can we have another look at these murder scene pics, Bob? Put them up on screens one and two, eight images,’ he continued.
    Fraser complied.
    ‘As it happens we were discussing your murders when you called, reviewing one of our current cases. Someone suggested a similarity between it and a nasty unsolved in the Daintree. Ring any bells for you?’
    ‘I seem to recall … last month, wasn’t it? One of my people said something similar, oddly enough.